For the first time since it was leaked George Karl wants to trade his best player, the Kings coach spoke publicly — only to add further ambiguity to a strange situation.

Without setting the record straight, Karl said there are “fibs” and “lies” going around about his reported desire to trade DeMarcus Cousins, yet also talked about needing “commitment” from Cousins in an interview with Fox 40 in Sacramento.

“It’s just a lot of crazy, crazy fibs and lies,” he said. “It’s just a situation where we won 29 games last year. For us as a basketball organization we want to get better. [Cousins] is our best player we know that, we want him committed and dedicated to being in Sacramento and playing and leading us to the first playoffs in Sacramento in [10] years.”

While Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and top executive Vlade Divac have said they don’t plan to deal their All-Star forward, Karl declined to follow suit. When asked if he wants to trade Cousins, Karl wouldn’t give a straight answer, instead saying “my interest right now is commitment, trust and building a team that’s excited about being in Sacramento.”

When pressed about whether Cousins will be part of that, Karl said: “If he comes committed I’m 120 percent into making him the best basketball player he’s ever been.”